Goal!
by HarryRiddleBiggestFans
Summary: Summary : Daphne dumped her boyfriend because of a football match. She hates football with all her heart. What will happen when she's sent to Paris to work as a personal interpreter for a gorgeous football player during the World Cup? NonMagic! Harry/Daphne! Football/Soccer! Take in Germany and French.
1. Chapter 1

_**Summary : Daphne dumped her boyfriend because of a football match. She hates football with all her heart. What will happen when she's sent to Paris to work as a personal interpreter for a gorgeous football player during the World Cup?**_

_**Disclaimer : I don't own HP nor the characters, but lots of Ocs.**_

****(Chapter One)****

"You're kidding, right?" I stared at him across the table. My hot chocolate didn't look so appealing any more. His dark eyes avoided to finish my degree in Journalism, lots of hours of effort and hard work. I was really proud of myself, being on the top of my class. I knew I hadn't had too much time for Theodore, but it had to be like that.

"I told you, I want to watch the football match with my mates, it's the classification match!" He said, as if this was a reason to justify it. I couldn't believe it. We had been four years together. But in Germany, football is a huge thing. Germans love the game, the glamour, the excitement of being inside a stadium. I can understand this, although I don't like this sport at all. In fact, I hate it. But my graduation was important, really important. All my relatives and friends would be there. It represented the beginning of anew stage in my life. It was unique!

"Theo! Are you telling me that you won't come to my graduation party because of a football match?" Something inside me fell apart. Watching that boy I realized he wasn't the right man for me. I started to suspect it last year, when I mentioned moving out together and he just said how nice it is to eat mom's food and have the laundry and bed done every day. Did I love him for real? Or was I just used to be with him?

I waited for his answer. He took his wallet and left a bill on the table. The coffee shop was crowded and the noise was becoming unbearable.

"I'm sorry, it's the World Cup." He gave me an apologetic look, shrugged and stood up. "I'll call you tomorrow, sweetie." He kissed the top of my head and left. Sweetie? He didn't know who was he messing up with!

Much was my home. It was the perfect city for me. The parks were so big that you couldn't tell if you were in a forest or in the middle of one of the biggest European capitols. I had grown up there and thought I would spend the rest of my life in the same place. But as I walked to my faculty under the rain, something inside me told me that I needed a change. I had to get out of there, away from Theo and all what he represented. I looked at the buildings and, suddenly, I felt this wasn't home any more. Munich was Theo. Munich was the past years of my life with him. And if I wanted to get him out of my life, I couldn't stay there. I was positive about breaking up with him. And I planned to do it in the easiest way, as he didn't deserve another thing. I wrote a letter and it was on its way. I expected he would get it the next day.

I entered the old building and closed my blue umbrella. The halls were full of students talking in loud voices. I walked towards the stairs. I had to talk to one of my professors before graduation, as he said he had some news for me. She was my favorite professor ever: young, smart, understanding and very strict, but fair. I knocked on her door and waited for her reply.

"Come in." I entered her office and she smiled, "Daphne! What are you doing here, on a Friday afternoon?" I left my bag on the ground and sat on the chair, trying not to think about what had just happened. She looked at me and frowned. "Something is wrong?" I bit my lower lip and shook my head.

"All I can say is that I hate football!" I had to smile when I saw her face. "You wanted to see me?" I said directly. I wasn't in the mood to talk and she seemed to understand. Helga Wagner always understood. Her red hair was shinning under the lamps. It was a dark rainy day and it didn't look like a spring day to me. She opened a folder and looked up at me.

"Daphne, you're the only student in my class who speaks French perfectly." She said as I nodded. My mom was French, so I grew up as a bilingual kid. "You're an excellent writer and a good journalist. I got a call from someone quite important, they need an interpreter for some event that will take place soon."

"Helga, you know that I want to be a journalist. Being a translator is not exactly the job I'd like to have." I commented. I was really disappointed with the news. I had expected something much bigger than that. A translator? You study languages to be a translator. I wanted to work for a TV station, a newspaper! I already knew languages and French was my other mother tongue!

"I knew you would say that, this is why I left the best part for the end." She smiled. I had to admit I was really curious about that. "The job will take in Paris. You will be there for 2 months." I blinked, surprised. Thousands of thoughts came to head. A escape! Two months out of Germany, two months alone to forget about Theo, to forget about faculty and to think about what to do with my life!

"I don't know what to say, it sounds too good to be true." I commented, feeling a huge joy. I had never been in Paris before. My mom was born in Normandy, so we used to spend our summers there, at the seaside, but never had a chance to see the capitol. "Where do I sigh?" I joked, but Helga didn't smile. She picked up her cell phone and dialed a number. We waited in silence.

"Good afternoon, this is Helga Wagner, professor of Media and Communicatios... ah, you remember me." She smiled. "Yes, it's about the girl I told you about. She's interested." Another pause. I was getting really nervous."Yes, you gave me the contract.. aha.. hm... yes..." I felt my hands sweating. What was she talking about?"OK, thank you, sir." Sir? Who was she talking to? She obsirved me and passed me a piece of paper. "This is the contract. I knew you would say yes, so it's all prepared." Did she know me that well? I looked down at the piece of paper. Twelve pages waited to be read, but I didn't have the energy to do that. I took a pen and signed each of them. "Won't you read it first?" She asked, surprised. I left the pen on the desk and leaned down on my chair.

"Why would I do that?" I smied. She put the contract in an envelope and called the secretary.

"Post this as soon as possinle, please." I saw the girl leaving with the envelope. I felt so energized and happy that I could barely breathe. I hardly waited to tell my parents that I had got my first job, in my mother's home country and during two whole months! What else could a twenty-two years old girl wish for?

"So, what do I have to translate?" I asked, and Helga smiled in a strange way.

"You should have read before you signed, you know. But you're lucky, because it's a really good job and a really good training for a journalist." She said. My heart was beating so fast. Was I going to the French Parliament? Would I be working for high politicians, presidents, artists?

"I hardly wait to hear about it." I almost screamed, I couldn't wait more. Helga picked up a calender.

"You'll be flying next week to Paris, it's a private flight for your group." She said.

"My group?" I asked, confused.

"Yes, twelve interpreters are going, from all parts of Germany. The team needs more than one translator." She said as I felt my heart stop beating. "You'll be flying with a TV channel's private airplane."

"What team? I asked slowly. Helga looked at me gravely.

"Daphne, you've just signed to be the personal interpreter for one of the football platers of the French Selection. The employer is one of the German TV channels. You'll be translating the news into German. This year the World Championship takes place in Paris."

Football? I hated football!

**(Ignore – Just a Line)**

"When are you leaving?" Astoria asked. We were having dinner at the graduation party. The hotel's restaurant was amazing, we were wearing the most elegant dresses and felt like movie stars. My dad was clouded because of Theo. He had called me but I hadn't answered the phone. My friends were pressing me to call him back, but I really didn't feel like doing it. I was free, I was leaving. I didn't tell anybody how mad I was because I didn't read the contract. They would think I was stupid for signing something without checkng it, and they would be right. I hated myself for that. Two whole months rounded by arrogant and brainless football celebrities, who only dated models, went to parties and earned millions of euros, dollars and pounds kicking balls with their feet. Could there be something more stupid? Football had ruined my life, and football had ruined my first job. I thought about all the time I had spent choosing that lilac dress, the jewelry, the hairdo... I felt like a plain blondie going to a bar to take some shots of tequila and then go home.

"I'm leaving on Monday." I replied, hearing the screams of excitement of my friends.

"Oh, my god..." Tracy said, jumping hysterically. "You'll get to meet the French footbal Selection!" I rolled my eyes.

"What's so special about that?" I replied, exasperated as I took a sip of champagne. Ten girls observed me as if I was crazy.

"Hello?" Astoria waived her hand in front of my face. "Those guys are the hottest men on Earth! We're talking about football players! Gosh, I would kill to meet any of them!" I did all my best not to get angry.

"Look, it's just a job. I translate the interview, I go. That's it. Don't think I'll be hanging out with them." I desperately wanted to change the subject, but my friends had different ideas.

"Who will you be assigned to?" Pansy asked. She was the biggest worshiper of football players I had ever met. She knew all the names of worldwide teams, she knew about their lives and careers. I had always thought she was a bit pathetic, and I was sure I was being punished for being so mean towards her.

"I don't remember his name, can't you see that I hate football, I don't know any player and I don't watch any match?" I yelled, but the girls ignored me.

"Come on, Daph... I'm sure you remember his name!" She insisted. I frowned, trying to get back some data to my brain.

"I don't know, I think he was Harrison." I shrugged. Pansy screamed again.

"Oh my god! Harrison Riddle! He's the captain of the French Selection!" The crowd around me freaked out.

"Girls, girls!" I screamead furiously. "Stop it! I had enough, OK?" Suddenly, tears wanted to come to my eyes, but I fought them. I took a deep breath. "So what if he's Harrison Riddle? I don't know him, I don't give a shit and I don't care about any football player over the Earth!" Astoria and Pansy exchanged a look.

"So, you're saying you never saw him on TV? You don't even know how he looks like?" They asked, smiling mysteriously.

"No! OK? I don't know him!"

"I'm sure you won't mind his company at all." I heard someone say. I ignored the comment and went to the toilet. My shoes were killing me, I was in a depressed mood and all I wanted to do was to disappear. I had signed for the worst job ever and now I had to cope with that. That night, in bed, before I fell asleep, I cried like a baby. I had lost Theo, my graduation party had been spoiled and then the next two months were going to be hell for me. Could it get any worse?

Yes, it could...

**(To Be Continued)**

**A/N : So... What do you think guys? Should I continue or...? I love football so I thought it would be fun to write about it, review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Summary : Daphne dumped her boyfriend because of a football match. She hates football with all her heart. What will happen when she's sent to Paris to work as a personal interpreter for a gorgeous football player during the World Cup?_**

**_Disclaimer : I don't own HP nor the characters, but lots of Ocs._**

****(Chapter Two)****

The airport of Munich was a real chaos. My parents drove me there early in the morning. They were quite excited about the job, but also worried, especially my dad. He had spent the weekend asking e all sort of questions and nothing seemed to calm him down.

"Where will you sleep?" He asked for the tenth time. I rolled my eyes.

"I told you, we'll stay in the French Selection's hotel, out of Paris." We were watching TV but we weren't paying attention to it. It had been my last night at home before the journey.

"Why do they stay in a hotel if they're in their home country?" Astoria joined in. I rolled my eyes, my sister and my dad was always the ones who gang me up.

"Because..." I was losing my patience. "France is a big country and most of them are living abroad and playing for another clubs."

"What will you eat?" He went on. I couldn't believe he had just ask that. I sighed as Tori trying to hold her laughter.

"Dad, I'm twenty-two, I have a job, I'm a grown up woman. Please, stop worrying."

"Why do you have to go 2 months, if the tournament lasts about a month?"

"Because the selections have to train in the new grounds before the competition, they have to concentrate, get used to the climate, surroundings, so that they're not in a position of disadvantage. The French selection is the host selection and they're also in charge of marketing business, such as sightseeing, special interviews, etc. Will you stop asking now?"

And the weekend passed like that. Questions, answers and more questions. My mom and my sister helped me to prepare my suitcase, with all new brand elegant clothes required for the job. I added some pairs of jeans and tops, plus the snickers, as it was in my plants to have lots of fun doing some sightseeing in Paris. When all was ready, I went to bed and dropped the last tears for Theo. I promised myself I wouldn't cry for him ever again.

**(((())))**

The international terminal of Munich's airport was full of journalists, tourists and fans of our football selection. I looked for the check-in desk and walked towards it, bringing the huge suitcase and the rucksack with me. My father frowned when he saw a group of cameramen with their equipments and the logo of one of the German TV channels, "Vox". A tall man with a black leather jacket and a briefcase was shouting instructions to everybody. I stopped and waited, knowing that this scandalous person was my new boss. He couldn't be taller and he couldn't be ruder, but there was something about his way of speaking that made me like him. He was like a scared monster all the team of young technicians, reporters and now us, the interpreters.

"Just one last question." The grave voice of my father sounded behind me. I sighed and turned around. "Why does the French selection have a German team of interpreters and not a team from each country of the world? You're the personal interpreter for Riddle, but why doesn't he have a British, Spanish, Italian, American, Austrian... interpreters?"

"OK,OK, I get it!" I interrupted, before he named all the countries of the planet. I frowned. It was true. The French selection had an agreement with the Vox TV channel and Eurosport only. I knew it was all about political reasons and decided to leave the question for the end of the championship. I knew that the big man wouldn't like to hear it from a fresh interpreter the first day of her new job. Her first job of her life! "Dad, I don't know, but you shouldn't worry." He didn't look too convinced but my mom smiled while Tori keep on laughing at my nightmare.

"She's an adult, a very responsible one. She's leaving home very soon, you should trust her more!" I felt heat in my face and tried not to blush. My parents didn't know about the breaking up and still thought I was moving out the next winter. I scared the thoughts away, as it was the last thing I wanted to talk about.

"You!" A deep voice shouted and I jumped. The tall man in black was walking towards me, holding a card in his hand. He looked like the busiest person in the world. "Are you one of the interpreters?" I nodded, feeling observed. He raised an eyebrow. "How old are you?" Before I could reply, he passed me the plastic card and turned around. "Come with us, we're checking in, the flight leaves in one hour." I looked at the card. "Press Vox Deutschland," it said. There was a space for my name, but it was empty.

"So... I'm leaving." I said, looking at my parents and sister and hanging the card on my new lilac spring sweater. My dad hugged me, then my mom, then my sister.

"Take care and call us when you're there." My mom said. "Yeah call us, okay?" Tori added, my dad was quiet but smiled.

"I will. See you at the end of July!" I took my things and slowly walked to the check-in desk. The queue was small as we had our own flight. The man earlier watched me.

"Name!" He said.

"Daphne Greengrass." He opened a folder and picked up a sticker. It had my name printed on it.

"Put it." His rude manners surprised me, but at the same time I couldn't help to admire him. He was in charge of a huge project here. I did as he asked and waited behind a blond tall girl. I felt nervous.

"Why is this queue advancing so slowly?" She complained. She was dressed in expensive clothes, full of make-up and had a northern accent, probably from Hamburg. I recognized her as one of the TV hosts of a famous German show. Nobody replied her, as they were all too busy. The line moved and I advanced one step. Behind me, a middle aged man spoke on the cell phone.

"I want the crew ready for 8 pm. We'll be broadcasting first time in the morning." His suit was impeccable and he smelled of expensive perfume. I suddenly felt out of place. What was I doing there? I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. It was just a job, nothing else. I thought about all the wonderful places I was going to visit and felt more confident. All I had to do was to listen and translate. That was all.

**(((())))**

As the plane too off, I watched through the window. I always requested the window seat, although that time I felt uneasy. The plane was small and I could hear the strong noise from the engines. The wind moved the wings in a scary way and I suddenly felt a bit afraid of flying. There was man sitting next to me, around fifty years old, who read the newspaper. I saw his card on his jacket. "Press Vox Deustchland, Evan Rosier." I couldn't tell if he was another interpreter or not, as this was all what our cards said.

"Is it your first time in an airplane?" He asked, all of the sudden. He had a tanned face covered with wrinkles, like someone who would spend a lot of time in the mountains.

"No, of course! This is my tenth flight." I replied. He smiled but didn't look up from the newspaper.

"When I climbed the Annapurna, we went with a really scary airplane, nothing to do with this one." He said.

"You climbed the Annapurna?" I asked, impressed. He just shrugged.

"Yes, it was before I decided I was an old chap and had to find a quieter job." He looked at me for the first time. "Do you ever watch the Sport news at ten? I'm the reporter for the football section." I suddenly felt ashamed. I didn't even know the people who worked for the TV channel, and I was now one of them!

"I don't watch football." I answered, hoping he wouldn't comment anything. I was wrong. He opened his mouth.

"You never saw me on TV or watched football?" I shook my head, ashamed to speak. He put the newspaper down. "How did you get this job, if I may ask?" I knew he would say that.

"I'm an interpreter." He raised his eyebrows.

"I know. This is why I'm asking. You don't watch football but you'll be the interpreter for a player. Does this make sense to you?" He was now smiling kindly.

"I just needed a job, and..." I mumbled.

"Relax, I'm joking!" He took the newspaper again. I breathed again. I felt stupid, he must be some kind of German Celebrity and I hadn't recognized him. I suddenly felt scared. I had no idea who the French players were and I had the feeling that I was going to embarrass myself if I didn't do anything on time. "Whose interpreter are you?" He asked.

"Harrison Riddle." I heard him whistling, impressed.

"Do you know him at all?" He asked, smiled. I frowned.

"Actually, I have never seem him before." The man froze and observed me as if I came from another planet.

"You've never seen Riddle! Not even in the news? TV commercials?" I shook my head. "Adidas commercial?" No again. "McDonald's commercial?" He couldn't believe his ears and I started to blush. "God, how did you get this job? Now I mean this question for real." I swallowed.

"A professor from faculty recommended me." He stared at me in disbelief, then browsed the pages of the paper and reached the sports section.

"This is a picture of the French selection." He said. I watched the bunch of men dressed in blue. "Now, try to find him." I observed the image carefully. Before I could check, a stewardess came.

"Excuse me, we're going to experience some turbulences, please, fasten your seatbelts." The man closed the newspaper and put it on the ground. He closed his eyes, ignoring me. I wasn't brave enough to ask for the paper, so I just turned around and looked through the window. I suddenly felt sorry that hadn't even googled Harrison Riddle.

**(((())))**

Paris airport Charles de Gaulle is one of the biggest in Europe, or this they said. I believed it. We were inside the terminal called "the satellite", with its big cupola, and I felt as if I was inside of spacecraft. We were like fifty people from the TV channel, waiting outside the gates, while the tall scared man screamed.

"Most of you already know me. For the new ones, I'm Severus Snape and I'm your boss, that is all you have to know." He said as he looked at all of us. "There's a bus waiting outside. Once in the hotel, check in giving your press card and that's all. It's already for dinner so fetch a sandwich somewhere, room service is out of the question, understood? Now, let's go before I lose any of you." I looked around and saw some people walking alone. It could be seen who the TV channel's employees and who the interpreters were. The employees knew each others and hang out together. The rest of us just followed the crowd. I observed I was the youngest and that all of them were men, except a woman with bushy black hair who looked like a person who would die for sports, or at least her outfit showed so: sport suit, Adidas bags and a Nike wrist watch. She smiled at me and we walked shoulder by shoulder.

"Are you also an interpreter?" I asked, as we walked outside the terminal.

"Yes, for Draco." She smiled. She was around thirty years old and had a really kind face. I wondered who Draco was. "And you?"

"For Harrison Riddle." I said, and she winked at me.

"Look at you, lucky one!" She joked. I wished I could understand what she mean, for I knew none of the players. I really had to do something about that.

"Listen, do you have any picture of the players, by any chance?" We left the bags on the ground, as we waited for the bus, and she looked at me.

"No, why?" She asked. What should I reply to that? She saw my hesitation. "Wait, you don't know the players?" She asked in a shocked voice. Some people turned to watch us and I hoped nobody had listened to that. I decided it was time to be honest. I had the job, so who cared? Now I was in Paris!

"No, I don't. I don't like football and I just accepted the job because I had to run away from my ex-boyfriend." I spoke fast and nervously. She watched me for a second and then smiled warmly.

"I wish I could help you, but I don't have any picture." We climbed to the bus and sat together on the third row. I looked around, everybody was so busy working with their laptops, writing down things on notebooks, speaking on the phones... I suddenly had an idea.

"Can I borrow your laptop?" I had the hope there would be a wi-fi signal from the airport's internet connection.

"Sorry, but I don't have one." She apologized, as she picked up a book and started to read. I didn't dare to ask anybody else.

The bus drove through the center of Paris and I observed the streets, the river Seine, the Bastille and all those dream places with such a joy that I almost forgot what was I doing there. We were staying in a hotel in the North of Paris, out of the city. The name was Hotel Val d'Oise and it seemed it was a kind of old palace with gardens, swimming pool and all what you could imagine. It would be closed just for us, the press and the players. They had a training resort especially prepared for the football selection.

When we reached the suburbs I saw the Eiffel tower in the distance and felt an emotion I couldn't describe. I was in Paris and I knew that, whatever would happen with the job, it would be an unforgettable experience. The sunset in Paris was really worth seeing it.

It was already dark when we reached the hotel and all I could see was the illumination of the resort. The old big palace showed up in fornt of us, magnificent, full of history it's facade was made of stone, with carved balconies, gargoyles and all sort of decoration. It was rounded by huge gardens with fountains, paths, benches and a nice terrace that belonged to the restaurant. But soon my dreaming state finished, as the scary Severus interrupted my thoughts with his strong voice.

"We're here, remember, tomorrow at 7 am I want to see you all in reception, understood? You must meet the players before the first interview." He left the bus and we followed him. It the chaos of picking up my suitcase I lost sight of the kind woman and found myself all alone. The reception was a huge room with high ceilings, marble floors and a stone staircase that led upstairs. a modern elevator spoiled the ancient view and the atmosphere, but I was grateful to have it. After half an hour waiting in the queue, I finally got the keys of my room and it was a third floor. I shared the lift with a bunch of cameramen who spoke about the last classification matches. I wanted to shut my ears and stop listening, but I couldn't. Luckily, they all left on the first floor and I continued the ride alone.

The third floor was silent and almost dark. Small antique lamps illuminated the corridors and I pulled my suitcase through them. The room 313 appeared. 13. Not a good number at all. I put the key in the lock and opened. The balcony was open and the curtains flew with the wind. The view was amazing. Infinite gardens ended up in a forest. The blue light from the swimming pool gave a magical look to the walls of the hotel. I felt like a princess in a castle, if it wasn't for the fact that in 8 hours I had to be downstairs, dressed up and ready to meet Harrison Riddle, and I still had no idea about who he was. I closed the balcony and curtains and turned the lights on. I needed to read his biography, check his pictures and get some information about him. It was my job what I was risking. I felt angry with myself for being such a proud stupid girl who didn't even bother to learn a bit about the man whose life I was going to translate in the next two months.

I went to reception and switched to French-mode, speaking in my second mother tongue. It felt weird, as I was used to German, but it was great to find out I was as fluent as a native speaker.

"Good night, I would like to know where can I get a computer with access to Internet." I asked. The young girl behind the desk looked up at me with bored face. Her hair was carefully combed and her make up was perfect.

"We have wi-fi connections, mademoiselle." She replied, in an arrogant French tone. I was used to arrogance, but I had no time to be patience.

"But I don't have a computer or a laptop." I explained. She didn't even look at me.

"That is not my problem and I'm really sorry. I'm sure that one of your co-workers will be happy to lend you one of their devices." She spoke like a robot and she was getting on my nerves. I took a deep breath.

"Listen, tomorrow at 7 am I'm supposed to meet one of the football players, I"m his interpreter and I don't know him at all." I said. She looked up at me with an impatient face.

"Madamoiselle, I don't see how can I help you, I don't have a computer." She informed. I pointed at her desk.

"And what's that, if I may ask?" Her computer was connected, showing an e-Bay page full of Channel bags. The bitch was shopping online at work.

"I'm afraid this is a computer for private use and I can't let you have access to it." She sat down and ignored me, but I didn't give up.

"Look..." I started, but a deep nice voice interrupted us.

"Come on, let the girl check the Internet." I turned around to meet a tall man with the nicest eyes, the nicest smile and the most gorgeous body I had ever seen in my whole life. I froze as I checked him. He had short black hair and deep emerald green eyes. He was so tall I had to look up at him, and I was really tall myself. He didn't look at me but smiled charmingly at the receptionist. He was dressed in jeans and wore a black sweater. I didn't remember him from the airplane, was he another interpreter, a journalist? He was probably a TV host, he had to be, he was gorgeous!"

"I'm not supposed to do that." The girl replied, flirting. I rolled my eyes. I tried to ignore the feeling inside me and how intimidated I was in front of that man, and turned around to talk to her again.

"I'm the interpreter for a player called Harrison Riddle, I hate football and never heard of him before, but tomorrow I 'm supposed to start to work with him and as you must understand, I have to Google a bit before I meet him, OK? It's my job what I'm talking about?" When I saw the look on her face I thought she had seen a ghost. Silence filled the room. "What's wrong?" I asked. She typed the name in Google and turned the screen to me. I leaned over the desk to take a look. There, in one of the results pictures, and dressed in the blue uniform, was the man who was standing behind me right at that moment. I felt a hot blush covering my face.

"See? It wasn't that hard to help her." I heard him saying, in a sarcastic tone of voice. I didn't dare to look back.

"Thank you." I murmured, taking my keys and running upstairs as fast as I could. Needless to say, that night I barely slept.

**A/N: Thank you for reviews. Here's the update, hope you enjoy the new chapter as much as I do. Thank you again and stay tunes! 'till next time...**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Summary : Daphne dumped her boyfriend because of a football match. She hates football with all her heart. What will happen when she's sent to Paris to work as a personal interpreter for a gorgeous football player during the World Cup?_**

**_Disclaimer : I don't own HP nor the characters, but lots of Ocs._**

****(Chapter Three)****

I opened my eyes. It was still dark. I turned the lamps on and blinked until I got used to the light. It was still 5 am but I wasn't asleep anymore. I remembered last evening's incident and moaned. I knew what would happen next. Those guys were actual divas and I had read many stories about cooks being fired for serving too bloody steaks, waitresses being yelled at for bringing the Coke to warm and all sort of stupid things they didn't bear. They were the center of the world, the wanted the best. And I had made a fool out of myself in front of the richest French football player. I was actually expecting Severus to knock on my door anytime, because that was for granted, I was going to be fired.

I took a long shower and tried to relax. As the water fell over my head, I thought of all possible tactics to defend myself when the moment came. I really didn't want to go home, I wanted to see Paris, to visit the Louvre museum, to find if it's true that the "Mona Lisa" is as small they say. I couldn't go back home so early, I had to convince Severus that I hadn't done anything wrong.

The shampoo smelled of orange and I wondered how much did it cost. The whole resort was five stars, including the items in the toilet: moisture cream, body milk, hair conditioner, hands cream, etc. It was a little spa all for myself. I left the shower and took the hairdryer. It barely made any noise. Compared to mine, back in Germany, it was like the noise inside an airplane compared to the noise of a motorbike. High technology indeed!

I picked a pair of black trousers and a black shirt, combined with a pink and lilac long necklace and matching earrings. I was lucky to have natural straight hair, so that I didn't have to spend hours fixing it. I hoped that my new ballerinas wouldn't hurt my feet, as I was used to wear snickers. I put some make-up on gray eye shadow and a bit of lip gloss. When I checked myself in the mirror I felt as if I was another person no the usual Daphne in jeans and tops. Now I was a working woman with a hard day waiting for her.

I heard a knock on the door and hurried to open it. The halls were empty. I frowned, wondering if it had just been my imagination, but when I was about to step inside again, I saw something on the ground. There, next to my door, there was a bunch of magazines and newspapers with a post-it written on the top. "Some little research might help you," it said. It wasn't signed.

"Hello?" I said, getting no answer. I picked up the magazines and went inside my room. As i browsed the covers, I saw they were all about famous people, celebrities and gossips, full of pictures and short articles. One of them called my attention, as it had a huge picture of Harrison Riddle on the first page. It was the first time I had a chance to look at him and I felt my heart beating fast. I hadn't been wrong last evening, he was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen in my whole life. His killing smile and innocent eyes were a lethal combination for any girl. His black hair was short and he was dressed in casual clothes, just like last night. I read the lines with curiosity. "Harrison Riddle gets ready for the World Championship." Then, there was a short bio, exactly what I needed. It seemed he was only 3 years older than me, he was the youngest captain of the championship and the best paid player in France. He was born in Paris and had a huge mansion in the center. I snorted. He was probably the typical rich kid who can afford anything in the world. I went on reading but it didn't say anything significant, just a few details about his way of playing. I took another magazine, he appeared with another player called Draco. I remembered this was the player assigned to the woman who sat next to me in the bus. Apparently, they were best friends and liked to go to parties to gether. Of course, Draco's girlfriend was a famous German top model called Hannah and it didn't surprise me that Harrison was single. I could picture him as a man who got a different model every day and never got tired of trying new ones. I knew I wasn't being fair, judging him like that, but what could I expect from someone like him? The rest of newspapers gave some information about his past, like that he started playing when he was five, he loved pasta and the color green, playing golf and tennis and that he didn't like to take life too seriously. I snorted again, throwing the papers over my bed.

I checked the time, it was six am. Breakfast was going to be served soon. I picked up the keys, left the room and waited for the elevator. I wondered who had left the magazines there. I was sure it had been the kind woman from the bus and I could hardly wait to meet her at breakfast and thank her. She had saved my life!

The reception was crowded. All our technicians were preparing the bags, the cameras, the TV hosts were memorizing their lines, walking up and down and talking to themselves. I crossed that chaos and reached the desk where luckily there was another receptionist. The boy looked at me as I gave him the keys and smiled. I turned around, trying to find the woman, but I couldn't see her. I walked to the restaurant and saw many people sitting there already. It was a buffet breakfast, so I took a silver tray and started to pick among the delicious things they were offering. I felt a presence next to me and the smell of a very strong perfume.

"This breakfast is shit." A loud voice said, in German. She was the blond girl from the airport. "This croissant you're taking is poison." I observed her, wondering what her problem was. She ignored my gaze. "Will you sit with me? I hate eating alone." She didn't wait for a reply, she headed to the round table next to the gallery and all I could do was follow her. After all, I hated eating alone as well.

"Are you also an interpreter?" I asked, as I sat down across the table. Her face was perfect, her eyes light blue and her hair wavy and blonde. She watched me as if I was crazy.

"Please..." she replied with despair. I put sugar on my coffee and tried to remain calmed. Her manicured hands pointed at my dish. "If you'll eat this you'll get even fatter." She took a sip of her black coffee, no sugar and no milk.

"Excuse me?" I said, upset. "Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?" I couldn't help saying that. She looked up at me.

"Relax, it's not a critic. I'm just telling you that you wouldn't want to win more weight. I'm just trying to help." She looked through the windows. "Isn't this place beautiful?" I gaped at her, unable to understand.

"Who are you?" I asked. She sighed.

"Unfortunately, someone who shouldn't be here. My boyfriend Draco decided to play this stupid championship and we left our house in London to come here. Of course, I'm not allowed to sleep with him in the same room or even see him when I want. I'm telling you, this is worse that a concentration camp." She too another sip of coffee. Suddenly, I felt a bit of sympathy for her.

"Oh, you're this one... To be honest, I don't know who Draco is and I don't give a shit about football." I said as I bit my chocolate croissant. "I'm working as an interpreter and i had no idea it was all about football." She smiled for the first time.

"Poor you. Going to college and all that, to get a shitty job that won't pay you enough to buy a Louis Vuitton." I had to laugh when she commented that. She was so direct, so honest... and so rude!

"And what's your job, if I may ask? Dating football players?" I asked, with sarcasm. She didn't seem to notice.

"You don't know me, right?" She asked, sighing. "You're also German, for god sake! I'm the runner up of Germany's Next Top Model!" She said, as if that explained everything.

"Sorry, didn't watch that show." I commented, but she continued.

"I worked so hard to be a model and when I finally get a contract with London's best agency, when I finally can go to parties full of celebrities, actors, businessmen... then, I meet Draco and he ruins my plans!" She almost sobbing.

"How so?" I asked, trying to be kind. It was a really hard work.

"I wanted to marry a millionaire, I wanted to spend holidays in a yacht with some kind of Donal Trump. But I didn't even manage to catch the richest football player." She shook her head.

"David Beckham is taken." I said reminding her. She watched me as if I was stupid.

"Who's talking about Dave?" She asked, confused. "Right now, the best paid football player is Harrison Riddle! I can't tell you how many times I hit on him, but he always rejected me. And hey, look at me! Am I not gorgeous enough?" She took another sip of coffee.

"You are, you are." I said, trying not to smile.

"Anyway," She went on. "We both live in London, we both speak English and when I was finally getting ready for my first important session... The World Championship starts! And I have to come here!"

"How did you meet Draco?" I asked, interested in spite of everything.

"Oh, he's Harrison's best friend. They both play for the same team in London." This information could be useful for me. "I was following Harrison everywhere and Draco tried to help me to get to him, and in the end..." She smiled and shrugged.

"So Harrison doesn't live in France?" I asked.

"Nope." She replied, and the looked at me. "What are you doing here anyway."

"I told you, I'm an interpreter." I said, impatiently. She rolled her eyes.

"I know that, I'm not stupid. I want to know who are you working for." She crossed her arms and leaned back on her chair. It seemed that her breakfast was over already. Just a cup of coffee. No wonder she was so skinny.

"Vox TV Channel." I said, and her face brightened up.

"Cool!" She smiled. "And what does it have to do with your job?"

"I'll be translating a player's interviews into German. I'm Harrison's interpreter." I saw her opened her mouth.

"Wow, so you'll get to spend quite some time with football players... listen," She said as she moved closer to me. "Could you do something like, you know, pass messages to Draco?" She asked, her face showing expectation like a little kid.

"I'll see what I can do." I replied.

"Cool!" She said, looking through the windows again. "Oh, look, the players are here!" I turned around and followed her gaze. A group of men dressed in sport suits were leaving the building next to the hotel. I couldn't see Harrison among them but I did see a handsome blonde boy walking towards us. "Draco!" She waved, smiling. He smiled back but a strong older man stopped him. He was the trainer of the French selection. "Asshole..." she murmured. I noticed that they took all players to the tables in the garden, quite far away from us.

"They're not allowed to say hi?" I asked, shocked. She shook her head.

"He has to spend his free time with the team, so that they don't lose concentration, or something like that. See? It was useless that I came here." She moaned. I realized I didn't remember her name from the magazine.

"I'm Daphne." I said. She smiled.

"I'm Hannah. It was nice to be able to speak in German. Draco doesn't want to learn it." Silence came, as I finished my breakfast. I suddenly felt a vibration in my pocket. My cell phone was ringing.

"Excuse me, I'll take this outside." I opened the doors to the garden and replied the call. It was Tracy, my best friend. I looked around to check if there was someone listening, but the only people near me were the French players who, definitely, didn't speak German. Again, I didn't see Harrison among them, so I felt safe and just answered the call. I sat on a bench behind some bushes and let the plants and trees give me some privacy.

_"You bitch! Tell me everything!" _She joked and I smiled.

"Hi to you too, Trace. It feels so good to speak German."

I told her where I was and summarized the story about the journey, the hotel, my last night's incident and breakfast with Tracy.

_"Oh, no, you're in big trouble then! Has he complained about you?" _She asked. I looked around as expected, all men were ignoring me, as they couldn't understand a word. Plus, they all seemed to be very concentrated on their loud conversation.

"I couldn't care less about what he thinks of me. He's the richest football player in the country and probably has the ego of the size of an elephant. Plus, his best friend is dating a bimbo top model from Hamburg, this doesn't tell anything good about them." I paused, looking around. "I can tell you that he's hot, really hot, but believe me, I wouldn't let him come closer to me, not even for a second. Plus, he would never be interested on someone like me, right? I have the the hips of Jennifer Lopez, not the hips of Miss Size Zero." I heard a cough behind and my heart started beating like crazy. "Trace, I have to hung up," I disconnected the phone and stood up. I walked slowly around the high bushes and saw more tables full of players. I felt myself blushes. I had no idea there were more of them behind the plants. How many players does a team have? Of course, I didn't count the reserves, doctors, assistants... I felt some gazes on me, but I reminded myself I was speaking German, nobody there could understand me. Waiters were walking around me like bees, asking me kindly to move away. I was going to turn around when I saw him. He was sitting with Draco by the bushes, right on the other side of the bench where I was sitting. And this time, he was looking directly at me. His poker face was observing me without interest. I went back to the restaurant and sat with Hannah.

"Why are you so flushed?" She asked.

"No reason." I said as I finished my coffee in silence, unable to remove the look of how weird was the look on Harrison's face out of my head. Was he staring at me? But who cares? He didn't speak German. _I hope._

**(((())))**

"Silence, silence!" Severus was dressed in his best clothes and screaming at us as if we were a bunch of little kids. we were all waiting in reception for his instructions. I was standing next to the kind woman from the bus, finally. She smiled warmly at me.

"How was your sleep?" She asked, as she held a folder and a pen, looking so professional.

"Great, thanks! And thanks so, so much for the magazines you left me, I don't know what would be of me today without them!" I wanted to hug her but the look on her face confused me.

"What are you talking about?" She looked so lost.

"You know, the magazines and newspapers with articles about Riddle..." She frowned.

"I'm sorry but I didn't send you anything." She said as we stopped talking when we heard Severus calling us.

"Ok! Interpreters, come here. One by one, the twelve of you!" I followed the group, absent minded. Who had sent me the magazines? The evil receptionist? The TV host who climbed the Annapurna? "I'll start saying the name of the player, and you'll go through that door. They're waiting there for you, understood? Don't screw this up! There's a long morning of work waiting for us!" He said, and my heart started to race as I heard him naming the players. "Riddle!" He screamed, and I jumped. With trembling legs, I walked to the glass door and crossed it. On the other side there was a long corridor. My shoes echoed on the walks as I advanced. At the end of it there was a huge yard with a big stone fountain. Behind the roses there was a big group of people chatting i wished with all my heart to stop being nervous, to focus on my job and prove that I was indeed the best. I walked under an arc and entered the garden. I saw the kind woman talking to Draco and to a man with a suit. I noticed that each player had a man in a black suit as a companion. I approached them, slowly.

"Greengrass?" I heard my surname and turned around. There, next to the fountain, a tall man with sunglasses and a walkie-talkie waved me hello. He didn't smile. "Over here." I saw Riddle standing next to him, his beautiful face unreadable. I needed all of my strength to approach them. "I'm James Potter, personal assistant of Mister Riddle." I shook hands with him.

"Daphne Greengrass." I replied, feeling the strong grip of his hand.

"Greengrass? Sounds like greases," I heard Riddle saying in English, sneered. i turned to watch him and shake his hand as well. His hand was warm and lingered on mine for a while.

"No it's not greases, It's Greengrass." I replied, with a dangerous tone of voice he didn't seem to notice. His emerald green eyes observed me for a while.

"Daphne Greengrass, we're here to plan the interviews for the next week." James explained, opening a folder. I watched the folder as if all my life depended on it. I wasn't able to hold Riddle's gaze. Had he told James about the fiasco of the previous night? James didn't seem to be upset. "It seems you're bilingual and half French, how come you ended up in Germany?" I had to smile at that arrogant remark, so typical French.

"Germany is a great country as well." I said, "My father is German and my mother moved to Munich before I was born." I didn't add more details because, obviously, none of them would be interested to hear of them.

"OK, Daphne, you already know Mister Riddle." We looked at each other for a second. "This morning we'll have the first press conference and I want you to talk to him during the next hour about it. The greasy git said he needs a draft in German for 11 am, will you be able to do that?" He asked.

"Greasy git?" I asked, confused.

"Severus," He added as I looked at him still confused as why he called him that, but I nodded anyway, and suddenly felt that something was missing. Where was my recorder? And my notebook? And my pens? I felt so stupid.

"If you give me just a moment... I forgot my things in the bedroom." I said, and felt James' hard gaze on me.

"You forgot?" He repeated, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. I felt the blush coming. "Listen, girl, this is Riddle we're talking about and this is a big job." He started, but Riddle interrupted him.

"James, you didn't give me enough time to finish my coffee, what about five more minutes?" I gaped at him, surprised. He didn't look at me. Actually, he looked bored and acted as if I wasn't there. James just shrugged.

"OK, in five minutes I want to see you here." He told me, as I turned around and raced to my room. How could I always messing things up? How could I have forgotten my briefcase? My hands were shaking when I asked for the key at the reception. The receptionist watched me with sympathy.

"These guys giving you a hard time?" He asked, as he passed me the key.

"Kind of," I replied. "Listen." I said. "Do you know if anybody ordered to send magazines and newspapers to my room last night?" He checked the number of my room and typed in the computer.

"Yes, there was an order, for the price of forty euros." He replied, watching me. I decided to test mu luck.

"And who placed the order?" I asked, and saw a smile crossed his face. He leaned over the desk. I noticed he wore a bit of make-up and had his eyebrows plucked. He was completely gay.

"This, I'm not allowed to tell you." He said and I frowned, wondering why there was so much secret behind it. "But..." He continued. "I can tell you that the order wasn't charged to Vox TV Channel, but to a private account." I had no time for games and I was now sure that one of my coworkers had been the one who sent it. He dismissed me and I ran to my bedroom, picked up the briefcase and went back to the yard, which I found empty, as the rest of people had already left. I saw James walking towads me.

"Are you ready to start? He's waiting in the press room." I nodded, following him. We crossed the reception and walked to the other side of the building. I head the voices of dozens of people talking at the same time. We entered a huge room filled with small round tables, one for each player and journalist, plus the interpreter. I saw Riddle chatting with the man who climbed the Annapurna. He was the one in charge of interviewing him and I wished he wasn't, as he knew my little secret and how much I hated football. But, after all, Riddle also knew it by then, which made me feel even more uneasy.

James led me to the table and I sat next to Evan. Riddle observed me briefly across the table and then looked away, bored. I felt a slight anger rising inside me. Why did they have to act as if thy were the center of the world? Evan didn't speak a word in French.

"Daphne." He said, "We've been talking in English but I'm afraid I'm not too good at it. Please, do me a favor." He took the folder and passed it to me. "Do the interview on your own, OK?" I looked at him, surprised.

"But this is the job of journalist." I suddenly felt so nervous about it. I didn't want to lead the conversation, I was supposed to translate into paper all what I was hearing. But then, Evan didn't speak French, nor good English. I saw an evil smile in his eyes.

"Plus, you have to take advantage of your knowledge about football, right?" He winked at me, the bastard! Could have sworn that Riddle was smiling, but when I looked at him, he had the same bored face.

"What are you two talking about?" James complained, in French. I apologized and Evan left me alone with all the work.

"So, should we start?" I asked James, but he just shrugged and took a magazine.

"You know how to do your job, girl. Don't ask me." He put the headphones of his mp3 and ignored me as he started reading. I felt my hands tremble as I put the recorder on the small table and got ready to fire away, Riddle crossed his arms and leaned back on the chair. I felt his green eyes on me but I didn't dare to look at him. On the table next to us, the kind woman and Draco were having a quite dynamic conversation, I could hear their laughter all time.

"Mister Riddle, my name is Daphne Greengrass and I'll be your personal interpreter." I said, looking for the first question.

"I know that already, Greaser." He replied. I looked up at him. Had I heard well? Had he called me Greaser? His face was serious. I looked at James, but he was absent minded, reading the cars magazine.

"As I was saying," I went on, ignoring him. "We'll be working the next two months for Vox Channel and I'll be in charge of personal interviews." I paused. He was trying not to smile. I felt anger rise inside me. Was he laughing at me? I suddenly felt insecure. If I had the looks of Hannah he wouldn't dare to treat me like that. But again, Draco was being so polite and friendly with the woman he was with. But I was aware that it was all my fault. It had been me the one who had said all those things the previous night. Thank God he didn't understand German, else, he would have been really mad at me after listening to my conversation on the phone with Tracy.

"If I were a boyyyy..." James saing in low voice, and I lost all my concentration. Since when a man like him liked Beyonce's songs? Riddle didn't smile.

"OK, let's get this started." I said, connecting the recorder. "Mr. Riddle, you're the youngest captain of the World Championship, how does it feel like to lead a team of older men? The average age is twenty-seven." His face was neutral when he looked at me.

"It's a great honor for me and I'll make sure that I deserve the tittle." He replied coolly. It was so obvious he was used to interviews, he was a real professional. I asked five more questions regarding his presence in the world championship and then I noticed the next ones jumped to the personal side.

"You're known as one of the most desired man on Earth, how do you cope with it every day?" I couldn't believe I had to ask those things.

"I wouldn't say that I'm the most desired man. I've met some people who really despise me." He replied, looking at me with the same poker face. "But sometimes I wish I was invisible, it's frustrating not being able to go for a walk in Paris without having a crowd running behind me." Silence came, and I moved on to the next question, trying to ignore his answer.

"Beside football you enjoy any other activities such as..." There was a blank space with the handwriting of Evan that said, "You already know that." Well, yes, maybe he did, but I didn't! I felt panic coming. Then, I remembered the magazines and what did I read? I frowned as Harrison raised an eyebrow. "Such as...golf!" I said, triumphant. "And tennis?" I wasn't certain about the last one. He nodded.

"I enjoy playing both of them. I actually have a handicap of 21 in golf." I breathed, relieved, but before I could jump to the next one he interrupted me.

"Do you know anything about golf?" He asked. I looked at him. Was it a tricky question?"

"I'm afraid I don't. I've never played." I didn't add that I thought that golf was a sport for rich people who had so much free time.

"You should, Miss Greengrass." I couldn't tell if he was making fun of me or not. His expression didn't change. I went on with the questionnaire.

"It is well known that you're an educated man who likes to read and listen to music. You've also spent some summers abroad, as a kid, studying foreign languages. Could you tell us a bit more about the experience?" I was really surprised to read this, as he didn't look like a person who liked to read.

"I've been going to summer language courses abroad since I was eleven. I speak fluent English, Spanish and German." I felt my blood freeze in my veins.

"Mr. Riddle." My voice failed me. He had listened to my conversation with Tracy. He had understood it! "There are rumors that you plan to retire soon, how so?" I didn't dare to look up at him. I wanted to die. Now.

"I will retire if we don't win this World Championship." I couldn't help but watching him when he replied with such a confidence. He didn't comment anything else. I went on asking about the trainer of the selection, the players, the technical side of the game and so on. Half an hour later we were almost done.

"One last question before you go to train." I said closing the folder. "What are your plans for the summer? Is it true you'll be moving to another club?"

"If I don't retire, yes, I'll be moving." He said and silence came once again, I then disconnected the recorder. James looked up at us.

"You're done? Great. Riddle, you go to your training. Daphne, Grease – Severus wants to see you at eleven. Good job." He said as he shook my hand and left. I hoped that Riddle would stand up as well, but he just observed me as I picked up all my things. His silence was unnerving.

"Nice to meet you." I said, ready to leave. I had walked just a couple of steps when I heard his voice behind me.

"By the way, Miss Greengrass." I turned around and looked at him as he slowly stood up from the sofa. His height was impressing. "I happen to like Jlo a lot." He said and joining Draco at the door. I watched them leave, feeling the heat on my face. Never, ever again I was going to open my mouth.

**(((())))**

**A/N: Thank you! Enjoy the New Chapter. Review or PM for questions and all, hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I do. Ciao – 'till Next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Summary : Daphne dumped her boyfriend because of a football match. She hates football with all her heart. What will happen when she's sent to Paris to work as a personal interpreter for a gorgeous football player during the World Cup?_**

**_Disclaimer : I don't own HP nor the characters, but lots of Ocs._**

****(Chapter Four)****

At 11 o'clock I went to the press room and found Severus yelling at one of the technicians. I had transcribed the interview from the audio tape and was quite proud of myself. I walked slowly, waiting until he was done with the poor guy. He turned around and saw me.

"I was waiting for you, Greengrass." He said as he walked to a desk under one of the windows. "Sit down." I obeyed, leaving the report on his desk. He ignored it. "It's time for your individual evaluation."

"What?" I asked, surprised. My hands were sweating. Individual evaluation? I was screwed!

"You passed the test, Greengrass. Evan told me about it." He commented.

Severus wrote down a couple of things on a paper and then took my folder.

"We like to test our interpreters the first day, especially if they don't have experience, like you. You have to understand that an interpreter must know how the news world works and rule all the procedures."

"I have a degree in journalism." I interrupted, and Severus threw me an angry look.

"I don't give a shit about degrees, it's experience what I'm talking about." He snarled. "Evan tested you and you passed, not only you know how to translate, you also know how to deal with one of those divas." He lit a cigarette, although he was sitting under the "no smoking" sign on the wall.

"Divas?" I asked, realizing then what was he talking about. I tried not to smile. "Evan left me alone intentionally?" Severus nodded.

"That was part of the test. Riddle didn't know it, though, but he said he's happy with your work and he won't request the substitute." I was processing the news slowly and needed some time to react.

"Which substitute?" I asked, and Severus exhaled a cloud of smoke. I coughed.

"Do you think you were the only one assigned to Riddle? We needed a cover in case you weren't good enough." He took his cell phone and dialed a number. "Yaxley, tell the girl she can go back to Germany." I couldn't believe my ears. All that time, they had a cover for me! I then realized about what he had said: that Riddle was happy with my work.

"What did Riddle say about me?" I asked, as Severus browsed my report.

"Don't get excited, Greengrass. He doesn't give a shit about us, he's a football star, for god's sake." His rude tone was starting to be disturbing. "We asked him if he wanted another interpreter and he said no."

"He did?" I mumbled, but Severus didn't hear me. He stood up.

"Greengrass, now you're one of us, here you have the schedule of activites." He passed me a paper with lines, colors and annotations. "Follow this word by word."

"Can I ask you something?" I said, and he looked at me impatiently. "Why does he need an interpreter if he's fluent in German?" Severus frowned.

"Girl, all those guys out there speak English, French and some of them another languages as well, but if they spoke different in each interview, journalists would become crazy. He's French, he will speak French. You work for a German channel, you translate. This is your job."

"Why does Evan need me then? I mean, he said he doesn't speak French or english, but he's Riddle's journalist. If Riddle speaks German, then they understand each other perfectly, right?" I noticed that Severus was becoming angry.

"You didn't get a shit about all this, right?" He asked and I blinked, confused. "You're a journalist, you proved yourself to be good. Evan will broadcast all your reports, as well as the reports from the rest of interpreters, but he doesn't have time to interview those spoiled kids. and now, get out of here."

He left, and I sat there alone, as Severus called the next interpreter. I left the room and walked to reception, where I sat on a huge sofa under a statue of Greek god, I didn't know which one exactly. I was so shocked to hear that the job was actually about being a journalist. Now I understand why was Helga so insistent about me signing for this.

According to my schedule, I had the free afternoon and my next session with Riddle was the next day. Excited, I took my bag and walked to the desk to ask about transport and how to reach the center of the city, as we were quite far away from it. The receptionist wasn't there and I waited impatiently. It was 12 already and I was getting hungry, but I didn't want to eat in the hotel.

There was a big LCD screen on the wall, broadcasting the latest news about the championship. The French channel showed the training, live, of the French selection. The reporter was commenting that it had started an hour ago and that the rest of football teams were at their respective hotels already. I saw Draco running after a ball, a black guy doing push ups and then, Riddle stretching on the ground. I found myself staring at him, when I heard a voice behind me that made me jump.

"Where are you going?" Hannah was all dressed up, with a map in her hands. I suddenly felt trapped, I wanted to see Paris alone, I wanted to go to museums, to the Eiffel tower, to Montmartre! Hannah would probably suggest going shopping.

"I just wanted to ask something." I murmured, and she took my arm.

"Come on, there's a taxi waiting for me outside, I'm going to see Paris." I stared at her.

"How did you get a taxi that fast?" I walked next to her, she just shrugged.

"Draco took care of everything. Let's go, we'll see the city together." I doubted, and she stopped to look at me. "What?"

"Look, Hannah, I really appreciate it but I would like to see another parts of Paris. I mean... I've read so much about the city that I don't want to waste the afternoon doing some shopping." As soon as I spoke, her face saddened.

"Oh, so this is what you think of me, I see." She smiled sadly. I felt horrible. Before I could speak, she showed me the map. "I planned to see Eiffel tower first, then walk around the area and drink something. Later on, I wanted to walk in the Touilleries gardens around Louvre and maybe tomorrow see Mona Lisa." I gaped at her. She folded the map again.

"I'm so sorry, Hannah. I didn't mean..." I said, but she took my arm again.

"Don't make me lose more time." She said as we exited the huge palace and we got into the taxi. My heart started beating fast. Paris, I was there!

The taxi left us in Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge of the city. A soft wind blew and the clouds were covering the sky. I had the feeling it was going to rain and I couldn't believe our bad luck. As we crossed the bridge, I watched the river Seine running under us. I watched both sides. On the right, I could see the Louvre, on the left, the way to Notre-Dame cathedral. I felt a shiver. I was really there!

"We have to take the metro, lines 6 and 9, I think, and then walk a bit." Hannah said, checking her traveling guide. The metro station was near and I was sorry to go under the earth and stop watching that wonderful view, but I knew that what was waiting for us next was going to be awesome.

We sat in silence for a while, as she went on checking the book. I was really surprised and happy that she wasn't the kind of girl I thought she was. At least not all the time. I felt my phone ringing again and when I saw it was Theo calling, I turned it off.

"What's wrong?" Hannah asked, watching me. I really didn't want to talk about that, but I felt I owed her one. I explained the story about Theo, how in the past months we got distant and all about the last days in Germany. She listened with a neutral face. When I was done, I found myself willing to know her opinion about that.

"So you hate football." She said.

"With all my heart." I replied. She looked at her nails.

"And you hate football players." I didn't doubt for a second. I nodded. "Why?" The metro stopped for a minute and then started its' journey again. A crowd came inside after another crowd left. I pulled my bag closer and crossed my arms over my white top. I hoped nobody would step on my new snickers.

"Because they're a superficial bunch of men who only date..." I stopped, blushing. Hannah smiled.

"Who only date models, go to parties and drive expensive cars?" She finished. To my surprise, she laughed.  
"You really have a bad opinion about all of us, right?"

"Listen, Hannah, I'm just a normal girl from a modest family, with a normal life and normal problems. I don't belong here." I explained. "I could never have a boyfriend who meets models and actresses on daily basis, who travels all around the world and leave me alone at home, who goes to parties where thousands of girls would kill to sleep with him. I just can't. I want the normal kind of guy, who goes to the office, who can take me out on a drink without being followed by a crowd and who will be loyal forever." I finished when the metro stopped.

"We're here." Said Hannah. The wind became stronger. We started our walk through the huge memorial park towards the tower, the Trocadero gardens. The closer we were, the bigger it was. I had no idea it had those dimensions, I felt like an ant next to an elephant.

"You're totally wrong." Hannah said. I watched her, confused as we walked by a huge long fountain.

"About?" She sighed.

"Football players." I had forgotten about that already.

"I don't think so. I watch news, I read magazines." I said as I watched a stand where they sold pancakes with Nutella. The sweet smell filled the air.

"There are some players who are like that, and there are some normal men, as you call them, who are real bastards. Look at your boyfriend." She said.

"Ex-boyfriend." She ignored me.

"I can tell you that Draco is a sweet man who really cares about me." We stopped at a traffic light and waited.

"Hannah, you were telling me before that you wanted to marry a millionaire, what did you want me to think?" I said. Her blue eyes smiled.

"Oh, that! I was just angry, I didn't mean it. Draco had just told me we couldn't see Paris together and I was mad." We crossed and the Tower showed up in front of us. We looked up, at the top, and I almost lost balance.

"What about wanting Hadrian as your boyfriend?" I asked. She laughed.

"Who wouldn't want him? But this was when I didn't kno Draco's personality. When he was helping me to get Riddle, I got to know the real Draco and we fell in love." She walked towards the metallic structure and looked back at me. "Daphne, relax. Hadrian is totally free." She smiled. I felt a blush coming.

"I am not interested in him at all." I clarified, walking with her. "I could never ever date one of them and I already explained you my reasons." I felt upset, but just for a while. How could I be in a bad mood if I was in the most amazing place in the world?

"Of course not." Hannah replied, with sarcasm. "By the way. Theo will be history after those 2 months in Paris, trust me." She said, but I didn't care. We had the whole afternoon for ourselves, and that was Paris!

** (Time Jump)**

"My feet are killing me." Hannah said, sitting on a sofa in reception. It was getting dark outside when we arrived in the hotel and we had missed dinner, so we just bought some sandwiches on our way. She picked up her cell phone as it rang. "Draco, how are you?" Her English had a strong German accent. I walked around reception feeling free and happy. The city was amazing and I couldn't wait to see the rest of places I had in mind. "Daphne, let's go to the TV room for a while, I'd like to watch news." She said, as she hang up. "It seems they'll be talking about me." She smiled, pleased.

"Don't you have a TV in your room?" I asked, as I followed her through the halls of the ground floor. The walls were decorated with old paintings and there was a statue on each corner.

"Yes, but I told you I'm not allowed to see Draco there." She replied, and I felt my heart stop beating.

"Wait, who else will be there?" I asked, panicking. She shrugged.

"Some journalists, assistants, other tourists, players... they bring coffe there, they like to sit and comment the news, or watch the matches of the rest of teams." She opened a door and I saw a huge ancient room with sofas everywhere and a bar on the other side. Evan was sitting with the kind woman and chatting, Severus was laughing out loud as he spoke to the selection's trainer. It was so crowded and noisy that all my fears disappeared. If my coworkers where there, there was nothing to fear. Draco showed up behind us and Hannah screamed happily. "Draco, I would like to introduce you to Daphne, my new friend, we've seen Paris together." I suddenly felt intinidated and shy. Why did I care at all? So what if he was a celebrity? I tried to convice myself that it was nothing out of normal but I couldn't. I wondered what was wrong with me. He smiled kindly.

"Nice to meet you," he said in English.

"She speaks French perfectly." Hannah explained, and Draco raised an eyebrow. "She's Riddle's interpreter." As soon as Hannah said that, Draco smiled evilly.

"Ah, you're the one who hates football." He said, in French. I blushed deeply, but he didn't seem to notice. He left with Hannah and I found myself standing there, alone. I saw more players dressed in the sport suit of the selection. I turned around and walked to the bar, where I ordered a coffee. As I waited, Evan came to talk to me.

"How was your first day?" He asked. I felt anger come.

"You tricked me." I said, and he smiled. He reminded me of my dad. I got my coffee but he didn't let me pay.

"It's on me." He said, leaving a bill on the desk. He looked at me. "I had to do it, Daph. Now the job is yours." I didn't know what to reply to that. "Come, sit with us. Hermione told me you already know each other." The kind woman, Hermione, smiled and waved hello at me from the table. I joined them and I relaxed a bit. I had a chance to take a look at the room and I didn't see Hadrian anywhere. I took a deep breath and let all the tension go away, as Hermione and Evan chatted. The TV news showed images of Paris and some interviews with players. Draco was talking to a journalist one the screen and his team mates started to whistle like kids. Hannah laughed happily when she appeared as well.

"I look so fat on TV!" I heard her saying. Then, the image showed Riddle, talking to the camera as well. I observed his face in the LCD screen, his deep emerald eyes, his eyes, his voice...

"Daphne? Daphne!" Hermione called me, and I jumped.'Where were you, girl? We've been talking to you for five minutes but you didn't listen!" She smiled. I blushed.

"Sorry." I said, leaving the cup of coffee on the small table. Evan watched me with a smile.

"She's a real journalist, let her analyze the news." Said a new, deep voice. We all turned around to meet Riddle himself. He shook hands with Evan. "How was the day?" He asked him, in German, taking a chair and sitting across the table. I felt paralyzed. He didn't look at me.

"It was an interesting experience for me." Hermione explained. "I spent the whole afternoon watching news and making sure that my report was good enough for Vox." Evan nodded.

"It was." He commented, then looked at Hadrian. "All interpreters are hard workers, they spent their free afternoon in the conference room, debating and getting advices from each others." When I heard this, I felt shocked. Had I been the only one who went to the city?"

"Where were you?" Hermione asked, and I felt all gazes on me, also Riddle's. What should I reply to that?

"I went to see the city." I said, in low voice.

"Oh..." she murmured, frowning. "So, they were really satisfied with your work then?" I could notice jealousy in her voice and felt insecure.

"Daphne has a degree in journalism." Evan explained. "This is why we made an exception with her." Hadrian was staring at me with the usual poker face.

"Congratulations then," Hermione commented, standing up. "If you'll excuse me, I'll go to bed. It was a long day. Good night." She said, leaving.

"Actually, I should go and call my wife, she'll be worried." Evan checked his watch and yawned. "See you guys tomorrow."

I wanted to scream and run away. They had left me alone with Hadrian Riddle. He stood up, took the chair, returned it to its place... and sat on the sofa next to me, watching Tv. I didn't know what to do. Should I leave? Should I stay?

"You owe me a big one." He said, still in German, without looking at me.

"Excuse me?" I asked, and he turned around. His emerald eyes shone when he smiled.

"You could be flying back to Germany right now, you know it. I could tell them that you were a real bitch in the phone." I gaped at him. Then, tried to remain calmed.

"Well, it's not my problem if you didn't tell them. I didn't ask you to." I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

"This championship means the world to me. The last thing I need is to have problems or worries regarding other subjects. The press is part of my life, without them, I would be nobody. I can't complain about a journalist, especially if this journalist made such a good impression on Evan and Severus." I listened to him in silence, although anger was rising inside me.

"You should know that there was a replacement for me, in case you weren't happy with my work. Right now you could have another person as an interpreter, someone who really liked football." He observed me with curiosity.

"May I ask you why do you hate football?"Oh, no. I really didn't want to talk about hta.t he noticed I felt uneasy. "Wow, it's some big reason, isn't it?"

"Why do you want to know?" I asked. I was sure he didn't care at all. I was just another one from the press. He shrugged.

"Hate is such a strong word." He said. I liked his voice so much that I could be listening to him forever. The thought made me blush, what was wrong with me?

"Football ruined my relationship with my ex-boyfriend." Why did I have to tell him? Why? He watched me, smirking.

"Really?" Was he laughing? I regretted at once having opened my mouth. "What did the poor guy do? Watch a match instead of going on a dinner with you?" His voice was full of sarcasm.

"Actually, he missed my graduation party because of a stupid classification match." Riddle laughed out loud and some people turned around to watch us. "What's so funny?" I asked, exasperated. He looked at me.

"This is the reason why you broke up with me?" He sounded surprised. "I don't believe you. There must have been something else."

"Why do you care anyway?" I asked. He watched me in silence.

"So, do you like Paris?" He changed the subject completely. I looked up at him.

"I do. A lot." I said, and he smiled.

"Nice to hear that." Silence came. Why did I feel so speechless? So shy? What was wrong with me? He stood up without saying goodbye and sat with Hannah and Draco. It was then when I felt totally out of place and walked towards the door. Before I opened it, I looked back and caught Riddle staring at me. For once, there wasn't any sarcasm or irony in his look. He avoided my gaze and I turned around immediately. Once in the halls, I felt my heart racing. I seriously needed a long night of sleep.

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews and for reading my story, all the places were real, I've been in Paris for some days and teh city that inspired this story. Enjoy – Ciao – 'till next time ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Summary : Daphne dumped her boyfriend because of a football match. She hates football with all her heart. What will happen when she's sent to Paris to work as a personal interpreter for a gorgeous football player during the World Cup?**_

_**Disclaimer : I don't own HP nor the characters, but lots of Ocs.**_

****(Chapter Five)****

"You're quiet." Said Hannah as I finished mycoffee. I had slept more than nine hours and felt completely fresh and energized. I laughed at myself for caring so much about this stupid job and the people around me. Now that I was feeling rested and optimistic, all the events of the previous two days seemed so distant and far away. I was dressed up for the press conference that was going to take place in the center of Paris. The bus would take us all, while the players would go apart. It was a big even, considering that it was hosted by the Celebrity itself. They built up a room next to the galleries and it was going to be broadcast worldwide. Hundreds of journalists would gather there. All the football selections were going to give interviews. Hours of work waited for us. The French selection was the first appearance of the morning.

"I'm just feeling." I smiled as Hannah yawned.

"I didn't sleep at all, Draco had to leave at ten and I stayed watching TV in that room with two of your coworkers. Nice people, by the way." She said, taking a sip of her coffee.  
So, you won't come with me today?"

"Sorry, we expect to be working until evening." I apologized as Hannah frowned. Severus showed up next to us, holding a folder.

"Greengrass, Rosier is waiting for you." I looked up at him, surprised.

"What?" He just left, without giving any explanation. Hannah smiled.

"Looks like work already started." She stood up. "See you at dinner then." Many gazes fallowed her as she crossed the restaurant. I finished my coffee and left as well. I still had to go to my room, pick up my things, brush my teeth... What was going on? Why did Evan want to see me?"

Ten minutes later I was in reception, done, and waiting. Evan was with me, speaking loudly on the phone. I saw my coworkers get on the bus without me and I started to worry. Evan hang up and looked at me.

"Daph, we need some backupp here and I will ask you to help me. Riddle is a quite demanded player and I can't do this alone. You'll come with us." He took the phone again and dialed a number. I didn't reply, and saw the bus leave without me. I told myself that I had to be proud about that, I was working as a journalist and they seemed to trust me.

I heard voices behind us and saw the whole team arriving at the reception. They were dressed in the uniform's sport suit. They left the keys over the desk and gathered next to us, chatting happily. I had a chance to observe them for a short distance and noticed that they were all quite arrogant and confident, considering how they spoke about the first match they were going to play. I couldn't help but admiring them. I wished I had that in me, that energy to do things and to take decisions. But I didn't.

"We'll be going in their bus, there are a couple of free seats and it will give you a chance to make the interview while I check the official questions for the press conference." He passed me a thick folder.  
The teenagers of the world would want to know a couple of silly things about Riddle, of course, won't add them to the official interview, but the German publishers would be happy if we could get some answers. I thought we could do this interview in the bus. Once in there you won't have a chance to talk to Riddle again." I took the folder, opened it and browsed the questions. I had to smile at some of them, but then felt a bit nervous. How was I supposed to ask those things?

"What makes you think that Riddle will give me the interview and answer this?" I asked, and Evan smiled.

"He owes me a big one." He didn't give more explanations and I went on browsing the silly sentences. I suddenly fetls so uneasy.

"Are we ready?" The trainer screamed. "Where is Thierry? Ah, you're there! Come on guys, a boring morning waiting for us!" The group exited the hotel and I saw Harrison Draco amongs them. He turned around to wait for Evan. When they didn't move I realized that they were waiting for me and hurried towards the bus.

"Hadrian, Daphne has some questions for you, requested by some teen German magazines, could you do me a favor and reply them?" Evan asked, and I looked up at Hadrian.

"Sure," he said, without looking at me. He climbed the stairs and we went after him. I walked among the noisy players and we found the empty seats at the end of the bus.

"After you," said Evan, as I sat by the window. "Hadrian." He pointed at the free sit next to me. Riddle sat down and I cleared my thorat. Why was I so nervous? He smelled good – shave and soap. His arm was touching mine, and I had nowhere to move. Evan took the seat in the front row and turned around to talk to us. "Go ahead Daph. If you have any doubt, ask me." I nodded, unable to say a word. I opened the folder as I felt Hadrian's presence closer and closer. The bus had started its way and the movement made our arms touch even more often. I tried not to think about it.

"I have here some questions for you." I started, hoping I would look like a real professional and that Evan would approve my work.

"Go ahead," he said in French. Evan wasn't going to understand a worrd of that interview. Somehow it made me feel more confident.

"Are you single?" I heard myself saying, and Hadrian laughed.

"It's a very deep question, indeed." He said. I looked up to him for a second.

"Those are teen magazines, for girls who barely fifteen years old. they want to know personal things about you, it's completely normal." I said, and he looked at me with a smile.

"I am single." I wrote down the answer, feeling his gaze still on me. I moved on the next question.

"Which is your favorite dish?" I remembered the answer of that, as it was in one of the magazines that one of my coworkers had sent me. Because I was still conviced that it had been one of them who the one that had sent them.

"Pasta." I found myself writing the reply before he said it.

"Did you know about this one?" Hadrian asked, with a teasing tone of voice.

"I got some magazines from a coworker to prepare my job." I explained. And I saw the countryside as we drove on the roads and there, in the distance, the first buildings of Paris.

"And do you trust those magazines?" He asked. I turned around to meet his gaze.

"Why wouldn't I?" He shrugged and I went on asking. "Who is your ideal woman? Ow does she look like?" I wished I didn't have to ask that.

"That's a tough one, it's difficult to say, it depends on the woman." I was going to write that down, but he went on. "I like blondies more than brunettes." I felt my cheeks reddening, remembering the phone conversation with Tracey, the one he had listened to.

"That is a very general answer." I forced myself to say that, as a journalist, as it was my job to request more information than one simple answer.

"Do you want name as well?" He asked, in a low voice. I hated myself for letting him making fun of me like that.

"No names, just description." I said, trying not to lose my patience. He was quiet for a while.

"I like tall blondie with a good sense of humor, who love to take risks who are not afraid of anything." I wrote all down, wondering what kind of description of his ideal woman was that, but I didn't dare to ask.

"Are you too shy to ask a girl out?" I snorted, surprised at the stupidity of the question. "God, how can I be asking this shit?" I said.

"Hey, let the girls out there get to know me." He pretended to be offended and I ignored him. "No, I'm not shy to ask a girl out. I'm just too busy." He said.

"I expected to hear that." I murmured.

"Why?" He asked, turning again to watch me.

"You live for the game, you don't have time for the rest of things." I said, and when he frowned I went on. "Look at Hannah, she's all alone all day, here and in London."

"And since when do you care about Hannah's life?" He sounded surprised that I had metioned that.

"I'm just saying that I know how the life of a football player is, and I know that could never ever be with one, as it would mean to be alone." I said. He watched me in silence. "Plus, Hannah seems to be a nice girl and we were talking when we went to the city together." I didn't know what else to say. Why was he looking at me like that?

"I know that. She told us." He said. "Draco is quite grateful to you for doing that. She said you are a great person." I didn't like the tone of his voice. "She also told us the reasons why you despise us."

"Look, don't take it all personal, OK?" I said, checking the paper. Before I could ask the next question, he spoke.

"You know what? I think you're not acting smart here. This is a big job, the one you're doing. I'm Harrison Riddle, I'm famous worldwide, have millions of fans and I'm rich as hell."

"Do you think that they're rich in Hell?" I couldn't help asking, taking him off guard.

"You're playing with fire, Greengrass." He was angry now. What a diva!? How did he dare to threaten me?

"I told you that you can report me and I'll be gone in ten minutes. Do that! And then you wonder why do I despise people like you. You're all just spoiled!" Evan turned around to check on us.

"What's going on here? Gosh, French sounds like an angry language to me! Everything all right?" When he asked that, I got ready for the worst. Riddle had the opportunity to complain about me and I would be going back to Germany in the next plane.

"Everything is fine." He said instead. "Can we go on with the questions?" He asked me, his face was impossible to read. I felt ashamed of myself for being unprofessional.

We spent the next half an hour with the interview, no comments added, no conversations, just questions and answers. We were done when we reached the center of Paris. The sight of the buildings and the river Seine amazed me so much that I almost forgot where I was. When the bus turned around the corner, the Louvre showed up in front of us and, around it, a crowd of journalists and fans were screaming like crazy. I felt intimidated, especially when a crazy girl with a t-shirt that said "I love you Harrison" started to beat the bus while a policeman took her away. Evan looked back at me.

"Welcome to the world of football." He smiled, but I couldn't. I suddenly felt claustrophobic. Flashes of cameras were catching each movement we made. When the bus stopped, my heart started to race. I saw the players leaving the seats, acting as if this happened to them every day of the year. They all looked so calmed and so relaxed, including Evan.

"How will we get outside?" I asked, and it was Harrison the one who replied me.

"Have a little faith on me, girl." He smirked, as he took my arm gently. He pushed me in front of him, his hands in my arms. I could feel his breath in my neck as we exited the bus, and it was then when thousands of cameras blinded me. I just let him lead me through the crowds. I saw all the policemen and security men fighting to leave a space for us to walk. All the players advanced slowly greeting and smiling. I saw Draco next to me, walking with indifference.

"How do you do this every day?" I asked him, but he didn't hear me.

"Relax, we're almost there." Riddle said in my ear. He was right. In a few seconds we crossed the back doors of Louvre and found ourselves in ahuge hall. A policeman closed the door and silence rounded us.

"Are you OK?" asked Evan next to me. I noticed that Riddle wasn't tehre. All the players were heading to the press room. I nodded. "Wow, that was hard!" He said. "Come on, we have to pass the security control and it might take time."

He was right. It took us one hour to cross the ancient halls of that wing of Louvre, get the "Press" cards and gather with the rest of Vox TV crew and interpreters. Hermione watched me in silence, with a weird look on her face. But I didn't have time to ask her what was wrong. We were led to a huge room full of seats. The whole French selection was sitting a row in front of us. Behind them, a panel said "FIFA World Cup Paris." Lots of cameras and journalists were sitting on the right side of the room. Evan gave me an earphone and a laptop and led me to my seat. I realized with surprised that I was sittin gwith Vox TV and not with the interpreters. Evan smiled.

"Helga was right about you, I think your place is here." I blinked, shocked.

"You know Helga?" I asked, and he laughed.

"She's my wife." I was so surprised that I didn't realize that the room had become silent.

"What!?" I screamed, feeling all gazes of hundreds of journalists on me, as well as the gazes of all the football players. I blushed deeply. Riddle shook his head, as if he was disgusted. I turned my earphone on and realized that it was connected to Riddle's microphone, so that I had direct access to his words. I got ready for the work. While we waited, the players started to talk among themselves and a murmur filled the place. I wanted to ask Evan about Helga more but suddenly, I heard Riddle's voice in my ear. He was speaking to Blaise, the player on his right

"I'm sick of this, man. We're loosing a morning training." I didn't hear the reply. I could only hear Harrison's words. After a pause his voice sounded in my ear again. "She's so annoying. She should be fired." I felt my heart stop beating. I watched him as he spoke, and could see the despair in his eyes. I didn't know why was I feeling hurt? I mean, I knew they were all like that, right? They were just a bunch of arrogant guys. I had known this since the first day I got the job, why was I so surprised? It was totally expected!

"Is something wrong?" asked Evan. I took the chance to satisfy my curiosity.

"Why didn't you tell me that Helga was your wife? Did you know that she had recommended me for this job?" He smiled mysteriously.

"Yeah." I felt anger boiling inside me.

"Why did you pretend that you didn't know me in the airplane?" I couldn't believe what was going on.

"She asked me to keep it as a secret, she wanted you to do the job by yourself and she wanted to prove me that you were really good." His words didn't make sense to me.

"It was all a trick?" I gaped at him.

"Look, Daph, you got an amazing job by yourself, why is it so important to you the way you got it? This is a real world, this is the real life! You have to fight for your dreams and you're doing it!" He really sounded like a father and it made me more upset.

"I never said that my dream was to be a football reporter." I snapped, angrily. He looked at me patiently.

"Each opportunity leads to a new path. You never know what can come out of this experience. It doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be a sports reporter." I tried to calm down and just moved on. The job was mine and I was in Paris. Who cared about the opinion of a bastard like Harrison?

"Ladies and gentlemen, the press conference starts now." A voice sounded from the speakers and all the ournalists got ready.

"Let's get into work." Evan murmured. And I really did my job. I did it great.

We arrived in the hotel almost at night. We were all exhausted. After the press conference, the TV team gathered in one room, where we all coordinated our interviews, edited them, prepare the live broadcasts and so on. I had no idea it was such a hard work and that it would take som many hours. When we were finally done and the bus took us back, most of my coworkers fell asleep at once. But I watched the streets of Paris wondering when would I have my next free afternoon to go on seeing them. I also tried to ignore the stupid bad feeling I had after hearing Harrison's words earlier. He thought I was annoying. Well, so what? He was annoying too, and arrogant! I promised myself that I wouldn't let this interfere with my work. He disliked me deeply and I was his personal interpreter/journalists. It was a bad combination but I was going to be a professional about that and keep my moods hidden. I would interview him, and that was all. No more comments, no mre private conversations that always ended up in a mess.

It was over. After 2 days in Paris I was more than sure that I would never, ever want to talk to any other football player again.

Hannah was waiting for me in reception and she was with Draco. I saw her waving at me and I joined them, reluctantly. The last thing I needed was to see any of them again.

"Daph, Draco told me that you went in the bus with them." She looked so excited. I nodded, tired. "How was it? The press conference?" I watched both of them wondering if they really cared about me or if it was just a matter of being polite. Why would a football star care about the job of an ordinary girl?

"It was fine, I'm just tired. Have a good time." I smiled, Hannah stopped me when I was leaving.

"Where are you going? We were waiting for you." She said. I looked at her surprised.

"But you're with Draco now." I pointed.

"I told you I'm not allowed to sit with him for dinner, he's leaving now."

"I'll call you before going to bed." He said, kissing her. "Have a nice dinner, Daphne." He smiled at me.

"Thanks." I saw him leaving. Hannah fixed her hair.

"I was so bored today." She started, and went on telling me about all the little things she did when she was alone. I was happy that she was talking all time. It meant I didn't have to give an explanation about what had happened and I could eat my dinner alone. I loved the restaurant at night. Each table had a candle. The doors to the gardens were closed, as it was raining heavily. Consequently, the football players were sitting inside the big room with us, at a huge long table. Luckily for me, they were quite far away.

When dinner was over, Hannah picked her phone and dialed a number. I let her make the private call and walked in the halls of the ground floor, looking through the galleries. The gardens were illuminated by soft lamps and the rain gave the whole scenery a fantasy look. I took a deep breath and relaxed. It had been a hard day and all I needed was a long night of sleep. I heard Hannah behind me, replying with monosyllables. For a second, she looked at me. Then, she avoided my gaze. It wasn't difficult to guess what was she talking about. I was sure that Harrison had complained to the whole team about me. I also knew that the players were watching me curiosity when I was in the bus. They were probably wondering what was I doing there.

"Daph, what's wrong?" Hannah asked, as soon as she finished the call.

"Nothing is wrong, why?" I said, shrugging. She narrowed her eyes

"Draco told me that you had an argument with Harrison in the bus, in French. He heard everything." I blushed, but tried to smile.

"It was a stupid interview." I said, but she didn't look convinced.

"Daph, you're risking your job when you act like a bitch, you know." I gaped at her, shocked.

"I act like a bitch?" I shouted. She sighed impatiently.

"You know what I mean. You have to be patient with them, they're used to be the center of the universe." She said, taking my hand. "I just want to help you, I know how this world works, I belong to it. I can give you advices." I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"How am I supposed to act professional when I heard him telling Blaise that I was annoying?" I blurted. She was quiet now, watching me.

"When did he say that?" I explained her, and she frowned. "That's impossible." She stated.

"Why? Because he's your friend?" I asked with sarcasm. She looked worried.

"No, because he's just not like that. If he had a problem with you, he would tell you directly, I'm positive." I had to laugh at that.

"Well, for your information, your dear friend was telling Blaise that I should be fired. And now –" I said, when I saw the shock on her face. " – I would like to go to my room to sleep, if you don't mind." I left and noticed her gaze following me. Once in m room, I went directly to bed. I wanted to forget about that day. I closed my eyes when I heard a knock on the door. "Shit." I murmured, turning the lamps on and walking in my pajamas. I opened the door and yawned. I froze when I saw Harrison standing there.

"Do you have a moment?" He asked. All I could do was nod, so surprised I was. His face was serious and his blue eyes looked darker, as the lamps of the corridors were disconnected. "I would appreciate it if you stopped spreading rummors about things I didn't say." His tone of voice was grave.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, upset with his attitude. He looked at me impatiently.

"When did I sa that you should be fire?" He asked. I was going to kill Hannah. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I heard you, in the press conference." He looked at me, frowning.

"When? I didn't talk to you in the press conference." He said. I sighed.

"I had an earphone connected to your microphone. You told Blaise." He went on staring at me, then opened his mouth in realization. The shadow of a smile crossed his face.

"Why did you think I was talking about you?" I suddenly felt insecure. It was true that he hadn't mentioned my name, but I had given for granted that he was talking about me. I didn't reply.

"Greengrass." He went on. "Do you know how many journalist do I meet every day? Why would I care about one like you just like the others hundreds?" I felt so small and felt wanted to die. His face didn't change.

"You have no idea what I was talking about, but you didn't doubt about spreading the rumor that I wanted you to be fired. What kind of journalist are you? Who accuses without evidences?" He had a point. I opened my mouth to reply.

"No. Let me finish. This is m dream, the world championship. This is what I am and this is m whole life. I won't let a newbie who thinks she's the best journalist in the world ruin m reputation or ruin any of these things I've worked so hard for."

Never before in m whole life had a person talked to me like that. I felt the tears coming to my eyes. He sighed and watched me in silence. He doubted, as if he wanted to sa something, he turned around and left. I closed the door and leaned against it. Tears were running down my face. I had made a huge mistake and I knew it. I went to bed with the feeling that I was going to be sent to Germany very soon.


End file.
